The present invention relates to an arrester, especially for limiting overvoltages in low-voltage installations and for coupling resistively separated circuits for the purpose of lightning protection, the arrester presenting at least one spark gap, formed between two electrodes which are held spaced apart by means of an insulating element.
Arresters are known, as described, for example in FRG DOS 2,337,743 and 2,627,648 in which the flashover, or arc-over, point is formed in an external zone either between the outer surfaces of the preferably planar, disk-shaped electrodes, the end faces of which are held at a spacing by an insulating layer, or between the outer surface of one electrode and the end face of the other electrode. In such an arrester, it is advantageous that the energy released during flashover can be quickly dissipated and thus danger of explosion can be prevented. However, one disadvantage is that the quenching characteristic for mains currents following the flashover is not optimal.